Islander slugs deputy, arrested

Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a Holmes Beach man following an altercation at a bar in Bradenton.

Eric James Hirzel, 27, of Holmes Beach, was arrested Thursday, March 13, after Hirzel allegedly slugged a MCSO deputy outside a bar.

According to a report from the sheriff's office, at about 2 a.m. on Thursday, a deputy stopped at the Distillery Bar in the 100 block of Cortez Road East after he saw a man shouting at people inside a taxi.

When the deputy approached Hirzel, he began shouting obscenities at the deputy, who reportedly warned the suspect to leave the premises several times.

Hirzel allegedly hit the deputy on his cheek when the deputy attempted to take him into custody. The deputy reported that he used his Taser, but Hirzel continued to resist. A second shot from the Taser also failed before other deputies arrived and Hirzel was arrested.

Hirzel was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and resisting arrest without violence.

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